Illusion:Reality
by y7is
Summary: Forced into a corner, Kid "borrows" the identity of Kudo Shinichi to escape, but finds out later that he's in for more than he expected...
1. Illusion:Reality 1

Disclaimer: All Detective Conan characters belong to Gosho Aoyama. Not me.

A/N: This chapter is plotless da capo al fine. There's gonna be some mystery, just not now. -- Sufficient Warning. I've always read a lot, but never really appreciated the work that goes into a well-written story. It took me quite a few days to do this. Now that I am one of the legions of DC fic authors out there, I hereby declare anyone who can write 10,000 words phenomenal/deranged (take your pick). 'nuff said.

Illusion/Reality

Facing the same courtroom gaze that had cowed countless witnesses, Conan had every right in the world to feel uneasy. He had only been its victim a couple of times before, and wasn't eager to relive the experience. _Especially over a game of poker_. Conan wiped a clammy palm on his shorts and stared at his cards for the umpteenth time. _Hopefully, she'll think that I'm just unconfident and need to check my hand again_. True to form, Kisaki Eri threw in her hand.   
   
"You must have had a pretty good hand there, Conan-kun, ne?"  
   
Conan sighed inwardly. _Can't you even cut a kid some slack?_ "Actually, I _tricked_ you, Oba-san! I just kept calling when I should've quit ages ago!" Revealing a pair of nines, he tried to prevent relief from dimming his got-away-with-it grin. Mouri Kogoro snorted in amusement as he watched his wife swear under her breath. "Outwitted by a grade-schooler, Eri? We must be getting rusty," he commented while collecting the cards. "Ante up, people!"   
   
Conan had "learned" how to play poker a few nights back, when a visiting Sonoko saw him shuffling his first pack of cards - and lost enough to finance the Chibi-chan Ice-cream Fund for a fortnight. _Hey, a kid's gotta eat, and I'm paying my way this time_. Conan allowed himself a small grin as he picked up his cards. _Hmm, maybe I'll let Ran win this time _- he paused in mid-thought. Ran was gazing out the window, her expression wistful. A pang of guilt immediately assailed him, followed by the usual swirl of emotions concerning Ran. He sighed. _Well, it could be worse. Kudo Shinichi could've been the Cardshark of the East. _Which would inevitably result in some _very_ pointed questions. Fortunately Shinichi rarely played cards at all; besides, playing poker wasn't about the cards, it was all about the people --  
   
"A-_hem_! " the cough startled both Ran and Conan, who snapped back to the game at hand.  
   
-- who were decidedly less than patient when losing to someone who couldn't quite hold five cards with one hand.

----

Outside the Mouri Detective Agency, everyday life stopped dead in its tracks. And turned with raised eyebrows. The pillion rider on a motorbike had started yelling at her companion even before dismounting and pulling her helmet off.

"Aho! How could you have managed to lose sight of them? They were right in front of us!"

The other youth, a dark-skinned boy with a huge scowl on his face, bellowed in reply, "Aho! Do you think I control traffic lights in Japan?" The row continued, with the customary death glares, threats of physical harm and questionings of sanity. Above them, a stunned bird sweatdropped and nervously resumed chirping. A trio of children retrieved a momentarily ignored football and carried on with their game. Life suppressed a sigh, and resumed its normal course. 

Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha were in town.

----

Having his hair ruffled by anyone other than Ran was, at best, unpleasantly disconcerting. _By Hattori, however..._ Conan made a mental note for revenge as he closed the living room door and went back to his usual seat beside Ran. Having long forgotten their argument, the couple-in-denial from Osaka launched into their story. Apparently they were supposed to follow some friends to a nearby amusement park, but had somehow lost them along the way, and the agency was conveniently near, so... Conan tuned out the rest of the conversation, stifling a yawn - it _was_ still Saturday morning, and he _had _stayed up late last night at Professor Agasa's. Getting up to get a drink from the kitchen, he wasn't surprised to see Heiji follow him.

"So, you coming with us, short stuff?"

"Where to now?" _If it's - _

"Tropical Land."

Suddenly he wasn't that thirsty anymore. Conan's smile showed none of the emotions usually associated with smiling. "I'll pass, thanks."

The teenage detective sat himself down on the floor facing Conan. "Lighten up, Kudo. Even detectives need to take a day off sometimes, ne?"

"The last time I was there, I had so much fun I felt ten years younger," Conan deadpanned.

----

1. Go, if just to keep Ran company. Everybody is happy except Conan.

2. No-go. Heiji and Kazuha enjoy themselves. Ran might or might not go. Either way, she will mope about Shinichi or think up new karate techniques to beat him up, all the while wondering about Conan's strange aversion to theme parks.

3. Self-disembowelment with a plastic fork.

_Too bad I couldn't come up with any more alternatives in time_._ And it's all thanks to this baka here._ Standing in front of the Tropical Land's main entrance while waiting for Ran and Kazuha to get the tickets, Conan tugged at Heiji's jeans. "You owe me at least a thousand yen, Hattori. I was holding a seven-high flush when you interrupted our game."

"Prove it," the dark-skinned teen grinned -- then stopped. Being on the wrong side of a watch-sized sleeping dart gun wielded by an irritated pint-sized detective was not very funny. He quickly felt for his wallet.

"Hey! Conan! Heiji!" Kazuha suddenly appeared, dragging Heiji through the brightly-lit entrance, leaving Conan to catch up. _Yup. Here's where it all ended -- and begun. Exit Kudo Shinichi, enter Edogawa Conan. Not that anyone really cared._ The media had quickly moved on to the next celebrity-of-the-moment. The police force never did wonder where their high-profile saviour was, having unwittingly acquired another less visible one. Other than a few rather diehard admirers, fanmail had slowed to a trickle. Sometimes, lying awake in bed at night, he'd wondered whether having Kudo Shinichi around had made any difference to the world at all. But whenever he heard Ran mumble his name in her sleep, or sigh longingly whenever she saw a game of soccer, or blush when teased by Sonoko, he knew, without doubt, that even if Kudo Shinichi was dispensable to the world at large, he _did_ make a difference. _Kudo Shinichi will return, if only because of her._

"Ah, there you are," the one-and-only reason for Shinichi's return walked up, handing him an ice-cream. "Vanilla, right?"

"You're the best, neechan!" he chirped. Walking beside Ran while trying his best to deal with the fast-melting ice-cream, he saw Ran whisper something in a hushed tone to Kazuha. He shot a questioning look to Heiji, who shrugged. Biting contentedly into his ice-cream, Conan smiled knowingly. _Girls and their little secrets. What's to be paranoid about anyway, over here you could -_

"What?! You saw him here? Isn't he supposed to be on some tough case?" 

_-mmmmrmpph! _In the fraction of a second after realization dawned, his erstwhile-ignored jaw muscles had done what they were supposed to typically do. However, often in hindsight does one recall that having a mouthful of something ice-cold has a unique if unpleasant effect on the human body. 

_Eyeballs back in sockets: check. Wonder if_ that's _how a computer feels after a cold boot. _A brief glance confirmed that Kazuha's sudden question had Heiji bewildered as well. 

"I'm not sure it's him -- I mean, he was quite far away. And there was this girl..."  Ran's voice trailed off. _Not good. _He traded knowing looks with Heiji, the latter's expression echoing his. _But _I_ can't do anything -- say something, Hattori!_

"Umm, it-it's probably just a simple case of mistaken identity, that's all," offered Heiji feebly. Two startled girls turned to face him. 

"Aho! And how would _you_ know what we're talking about?" Kazuha was quicker. 

"Kazuha, with a few words, you can instantly tell everyone _and_ their grandmother exactly what's going on in your head! Aho!" a roused Heiji was, as usual, quick with the retorts. "And for your information, it's not Kudo because he's _owww!!_"

"Don't speak to Kazuha-neechan like that! You're being rude!" Conan took his foot off Heiji's. 

"Because he's -- ?" prompted Ran, eager to hear anything that might concern Shinichi.

"Well, it's because he's, umm, rather busy. I mean, he _should_ be, didn't you say this morning that he hasn't called for a long time?" answered Heiji. Judging by the look on his face, Heiji was teetering on an edge, wanting revenge on Conan but unwilling to upset Ran. _He's a good guy at heart, I'll give him that._

The afternoon passed in a blur of nausea-inducing rides, junk-food and more nausea-inducing rides. Various highlights of the day included Heiji's cap flying off his head during the Mystery Coaster ride (retrieved by a little girl who was watching, which cost the detective an ice-cream), Kazuha's ponytail being pulled by a baby carried by the person behind her in line for the popcorn, and the finding and returning of a little boy who had lost his parents in the crowd. Despite himself, Conan actually did have fun.

Trying to recover some of his stamina, wits and sense of balance after one of the more intense roller coaster rides, Conan plopped himself down on a bench mercifully close to the ride exit. The others followed suit. 

"You know, we should do this more often," said Heiji, after regaining his breath. _As I recall, you screamed even louder than Kazuha-chan during the inverted--_

"Shinichi!" _huh, what the--_

----to be continued...

Post-fic A/N: Plot holes abound in this chapter. Find 'em if you can! Wish I had someone to bounce ideas off, but as I _don't_, you poor readers have to endure my bads, plot holes, silly script et al. 

For the non-old-school-computer-literate, a cold boot is switching the computer off, then on again, as opposed to a warm boot, Ctrl-Alt-Delete. Not really worth knowing, I run windoze now anyways. :P

Reviews welcome.


	2. Illusion:Reality 2

Disclaimer: All Detective Conan characters belong to Gosho Aoyama. Not me.

A/N: Reviews! Thanks YunCyn, Kazuha and Ysabet. Oh. Wait. AAAAAAA YSABET SAID I WAS GOOOOOOD!! My favoritest author said I was...*keels over drooling*. Also thanks to Icka and Bratty.

Reviews, reviews, reviews. You can't eat 'em. You can't sell 'em. But somehow, they give me a warm fuzzy feeling. I think I'm addicted. If I continue to be on the receiving end of said warm fuzzy feelings, the more I'll be addicted, which may result in faster updates. (Hint, hint)

Oh yeah. One more thing. This fic is actually done in an, umm, unusual way. It's Conan POV a chapter, then Kaito POV a chapter, then Conan, then...you get the idea. Yeah, yeah, it's Kaito, surprise surprise. Still no plot. Heck, who cares about the plot! I could just shovel out endless- I mean, er, plotty stuff soon. Yeah. That's it. Okay. Now put down the plastic forks. All of you.

Enough fooling around. Enjoy.

Illusion/Reality

"Shinichi!" _huh, what the--_

Out of nowhere, a hand shot out to trap him in a vise-like grip, and he found himself being whirled around to face its owner. _Hey..._

"Baka no Shinichi, do you know how much I --"

His apparent captor was a person he vaguely recognized but couldn't quite place. Obviously she was as surprised as he was. The bad news was, she hadn't yet quite released him. _Hmm.__ Why is that bad news again? Ah. Aoko. Skirt. Light blue this time. _Despite being held captive for no reason whatsoever by a strange girl, Kaito allowed himself a private smirk. _Suits her.__ Aoko -- _Something that had been lurking at the back of his mind, all but forgotten, took it upon itself then to visit his brain with the velocity of the Tokyo-bound Shinkansen. At rush hour. _ Angry, chase -- _he desperately tried to twist around --

WHAM!

----

_Uhhhhh__.__ Wha-- _Something cold and wet smacked itself on his face. And stayed there. _Fish?_

Desperately clawing at his face and trying to move away from it suddenly seemed a most prudent idea. Unfortunately, opening his eyes first would be even more sensible. As he found out. The hard way.

THUD.

_Ow__. Pain._

"The good news is he's awake. The bad news is he's face-down on the ground." _I know that voice. _Completing the half-roll that took him from park bench to concrete, Kaito cracked open an eye to see--

"Hattori Heiji. Doozo yoroshiku." _Spot on, Kaito. _He reached up and took the proffered hand while the teenage detective hauled him up. _Wonder what an __Osaka__ detective is doing here. Ah well, if phantom thieves can take a day off, why can't he? But why here? Hmm. Wait -- Mouri Ran. So _that's _who she was. You just _might_ be getting old if you can't even remember people you impersonate, Kaito. They came together. But if she's here-_

"Neechan, is Kuroba-san _really_ afraid of something?" Something cold and slippery got up and did a jig in Kaito's gut. It took all of his willpower to keep his facial expression under control.The last time he heard that voice was during the Black Star Pearl incident. It had sliced through the mystery like a hot knife through butter, not missing a single trick._ I didn't know they made detectives like that anymore._ That he had been able to escape was a better testament to his stamina than his stealth. In other words, it was a long swim to shore that day.

"Baka!" Inadvertently ignoring Conan, Nakamori Aoko advanced on the still-dazed Kaito. "How dare you -- if you had -- ooooooooh!"

_At least there aren't any mops around here._ Dodging a karate chop gracefully, he picked up snatches from a hurried private conference between Heiji and Conan:

" --hundred yen says he goes down in five--"

" --on, Hattori."

_Gotta__ give the fans their moneys worth._Still rather faint-headed, he sidestepped to avoid walking into a roundhouse left.

"Take it easy, Aoko-chan, I'm sure Kuroba-kun was just joking," Ran tried to intervene, completely unused to one of the rarest and most complex courtship rituals on earth. As the one-sided fight continued unabated, she seemed to be staring at Kaito. 

"How can anyone _move_ like that?" the question was whispered, directed more to the world than any specific being on it, but having heard it, Kaito suddenly found himself in a dilemma: how to end the show without showing too much of his ability _and_ survive the onslaught._ I still want to be able to dance -- _he hastily evaded a potentially-lethal kick -- _and use the bathroom normally._

"Neechan, why did you rush out and grab Kuroba-niichan?"

"Oh, that's because I thought he was Shinichi, that baka. He'd better watch out-"

"Shinichi? Kudo Shinichi? The famous high-school detective?" Aoko had suddenly stopped the assault. _Not like that's a bad thing. I owe you one, kid._

After the name and reputation of one Kudo Shinichi had been thoroughly slandered, defamed and dragged through a mud puddle on its face, Ran appeared much happier. Aoko had tried to keep up at first by offering some of Kaito's more embarrassing moments, but ultimately it seemed like Shinichi, Sherlock Holmes nut, involuntary kitchen-arsonist, baker-of-food-still-in-the-plastic-wrapping and overall tantei-no-baka, was in a league of his own. _Poor guy.__ He isn't even here to defend himself. I wouldn't wish this on anybody. Well, maybe Hakuba, but only about once a month or so. Make that twice._

After the revelation, Aoko and Conan looked equally scandalized. _Perhaps he hasn't heard it before._

Strangely, Aoko was the first to muster a defense. "But my dad talks about him all the time!" _With good reason._ No one had come that close to capturing the Kid. Not Nakamori himself, who dedicated his life to bringing down the Kid; not Hakuba, for all his insisting that _he_ was the one to capture Kaitou Kid. Kudo Shinichi had come out of nowhere, borrowed the on-site police dunderheads, and forced the Kaitou into the second most recent of his Top Five 'That Was Close' Experiences. _And that was without homework, too_. Kudo Shinichi was a wild card, an unknown factor, and all of the players in the game knew it. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately in his case, Kudo had done a disappearing act recently, not responding to their contacting him.

_Ah well, the guy's name saved me, guess I'd better repay the favor._ "Nobody's perfect you know, hey, I'm sure Sherlock Holmes or Ellery Queen forgot to do their laundry once or twice, right?" He was answered by two identical death glares. "May-maybe not."

----

A few rides and snacks later, Kaito realized he'd forgotten to introduce himself. Not that it was necessary, because as the little shrimpy kid had referred to him by name, obviously Aoko had already attached a name to his unconscious body. But still, appearances mattered. _Plus, I still don't know the name of that cute girl next to Hattori._

Hattori's grip was as strong as his accent. Invisibly gritting his teeth, Kaito had to strain to match the pressure.

"I'm Edogawa Conan." _Tantei__._ The unspoken title hung in the air, known only to those lucky (or unlucky) enough to witness the pint-sized detective in action. Funny that it seemed even more menacing this way. _Get your wits up, Kaito. Beware of shrimp. No Kid stuff. No card tricks. No sleight of hand. No pick pocketing. No fake appendages. Oh, and have a nice day._

The girl's name was Toyama Kazuha, but judging by the way Heiji eyed the innocent handshake, it looked like she was off limits. Although he knew virtually nothing about kendo in practice, Kaito made a surprisingly accurate assessment of how fast Heiji would take him apart if he kissed Kazuha's hand Kid-style. _Take it easy man, not like I _would _want to try anything._ He unconsciously glanced at Aoko, his hand still outstretched, which turned out to be a mistake.__

_Eeeep__.__ Rrrrrrrgh. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa--whew._ If shaking (or more accurately, trying to match the force of) Heiji's hand was a challenge, having his hand crushed by an amiably-smiling Ran was a nightmare. _I swear I heard something crack in there. _Behind his back, he plunged his long-suffering hand into his iced Coke._ Ahhhhhhhh. Even better than drinking it._ A few passers-by noticed a small column of smoke rising behind Kaito, but wisely decided not to point it out.

----

Actually, Kaito mused, as the Mystery Coaster surged through a dark tunnel, perhaps he and Kudo Shinichi weren't that different after all. _The looks, the situation with our, um, female friends, the klutzy exterior hiding a genius inside -- well, there _is _that _law _thing._ Eyes already accustomed to the darkness around him, he reached to take Aoko's hand in his-- _No. I can't. I shouldn't. _He slumped in his seat. A small sigh, all but audible, caused him to turn around. Edogawa Conan, his hand gently holding on to one of his neechan's fingers, was its only possible origin. _So what's his beef with the world?_ As the rapidly receding darkness gave way to light, a ray caught Conan's glasses, hiding the windows to his soul behind an opaque wall of glass and light.

_This Kudo Shinichi, however...he doesn't even know what he's missing. It's not like _he _has an alter ego that he's hiding from Ran-chan. One day he and I are going to have a little talk. For his own good..._

To be continued...(hopefully in longer installments)

Post-fic A/N: I'm going on my last vacation before school reopens! Roller coasters, nauseating rides et al. Yay! Posting this on an afternoon...funny. I do most of my writing past midnight...must be boring you guys again. Jaa!__


	3. Illusion:Reality 3

Disclaimer: All Detective Conan characters belong to Gosho Aoyama. Not me.

Author's Note: Why am I writing ff? I have no idea. And why am I updating it then? Don't ask. Oh yeah, sorry for the delay. Have been catching up on some of the ficcies here. Nice nice. ^^ Regarding questions about the timeline, this is set after the Mermaid Island case, but before the 4th movie -- IF that's at all possible. It's canon that Kid knows, but how exactly did he find out? It's still out there...

Illusion:Reality

_If only_, reflected Conan, gripping Ran's index finger tightly as the Mystery Coaster begun its descent. _If only things had been different from the start. If only I had never followed the suspicious black-clad men. If only I had been more careful. He sighed. _

Seeing Kuroba Kaito and Nakamori Aoko together had shaken up his kiddie-sized world. The childhood friendship, the frequent fighting, the way they sneaked looks at each other -- all hauntingly similar to the bond he shared with Ran. Unknowingly, bit by bit, he realized that he had settled into his pint-sized body, just as he had settled into his new identity as Conan. Before, he was Kudo Shinichi, struggling to squeeze himself into a little boy's frame; now, he was turning into Edogawa Conan, the little boy that wanted to be a tantei when he grew up, just like his Shinichi-niichan. _Conan was never meant to be; a borrowed name, a borrowed life. _

And yet. 

And yet the antidote was still nonexistent. He'd never heard any reports of progress from Ai_. It could be tomorrow, it could be ten years -- and I don't think it's tomorrow._

And yet the Conan inside him was content. During his second childhood, he enjoyed thoroughly exploring the roads not taken. He had friends, he had a family -- heck, I have a life. Only now did he treasure life, living it to the fullest. He remembered dragging his Ran-neechan out of bed at dawn to watch the sun rise, his pride when finally defeating Genta at the arcade, camping out late at night with the gang to catch fireflies... the little detective had seen facets of life that Shinichi never knew existed. He'd always thought of his time as Conan as an enforced vacation that would end when the antidote was found. It had never occured to him that he could make it a one-way trip. Before this.

One by one, he saw the lights on the rides and stalls blink on, preparing to greet the setting sun's wake of night.

_Perhaps - perhaps it's best for us all that I put Shinichi to rest. For good._

If anyone noticed one small passenger not joining in the screaming as the Coaster plunged downwards, they would've thought he was too scared to make a sound.

----

"Ne, Heiji, it's already too late for you to start for home, why don't you and Kazuha spend the night at our place?"

"Um, sure, why not?" Heiji was quick to accept.

_Hattori doesn't accept invitations that eagerly. And he's been wasting time on purpose since the coaster ride. He planned on staying_. Letting go of Ran's wrist, Conan slowed his pace and shot him a questioning look behind her back. Heiji barely met his eyes before flicking them towards Kaito and Aoko, who were trying to navigate the small group through the chaos while bickering over who should hold the map. _They look pretty occupied to me. If he's that paranoid, it must be a case._

For once in his life, even the prospect of a new case couldn't cheer the little detective up. Lagging behind the group now and making no attempt to keep up, he idly flicked up a discarded soft drink can with the tip of his sneaker and tapped the underside gently, sending it flying gracefully into a nearby trash can. Satisfied with his work, he hurried to catch up. 

He found them just as Aoko did the customary watch-check and exclamation of surprise. The night had indeed dragged on -- _thanks to that time-wasting baka_ -- and it was time for goodbyes. 

 "Oh yeah, one moment," Heiji produced a small box full of cards. _Business cards?__ Hmph. The nerve. Still, Conan managed to snag one, scribble 'Edogawa Conan, meitantei' and the number for the Mouri Detective Agency on the back, and pass it to Kaito. Not wanting to be outdone, Kaito whipped out four aces from thin air, his name and number neatly printed on each one. __Note to self: never play for keeps with this guy. Apparently Kaito, just warming up after performing his first trick of the day, had many more up his sleeve, but with time -- and Aoko -- not permitting, he had to settle for being dragged away amidst sweatdrops. _Too bad Haibara's not here, she could run some tests on him -- if anything can reverse growing up, its inside him for sure._ _

----

True to its name, Sunday morning was bright and sunny. A perfect day for sleeping in. A not-so-perfect day for waking Heiji up. Ran, Kazuha and Conan had all but given up. Even deprived of his blankets, having insults yelled into his ear, and sporting a pair of ribboned braids (respectively), he was still dead to the world. Finally deciding that he could hibernate until spring for all they cared, breakfast was just about done when Heiji finally awoke.

"Konnichiwa! So, did anyone miss-" he stopped short. It probably had something to do with the headlock.

"Aho! I had wanted to go for a walk in the morning and now it's too hot to go outside!" roared Kazuha, increasing pressure on the gasping, half-awake Heiji.

"I think you'd better let go soon or we'll have to drag his body somewhere to hide!" chirped Conan brightly_. Not that he doesn't deserve it, of course. Squirm, Hattori, squirm._

----

"Ne, Hattori, what is it?" The two detectives had escaped to the Kudo residence on the pretext of getting some of Shinichi's clothes for Heiji. _I won't be needing them anytime soon anyway._

"What's what?" Heiji had his head in one of Shinichi's wardrobes. "Hey, don't you even have one pair of jeans?"

"What you stayed overnight to tell me. And I don't _wear_ jeans."

"I _like_ jeans."

"Hattori..."

"Okay, okay, y'know that time when you all were on the roller coaster last night? I was sitting way behind you guys, and for a moment, I saw you. You were thinking about something." Getting nothing but silence from Conan, Heiji continued: "And y'know, I've seen that expression only once before in my life."

Instinctively noticing the change in speech pattern, Conan stopped rummaging through his old stuff. _Better listen.  "And?"_

Heiji seemed to find the dark recesses of the closet very interesting indeed. "Well, y'know that time at that island with that mermaid case?"

_That time. Hattori didn't solve the case, he wasn't even near...so it must be... _

"Yeah, well I didn't think it was such a hot idea then," Heiji could see that Conan understood. "I mean, you may think you have a right to do it, but knowing her, she won't let go, will she? It will only cause...unnecessary pain..." Heiji drew the hand in question out of his pocket, examining the still-healing scar. "Aho..." He shook his head, smiling to himself.

"Well, Hattori, I- Oi, Hattori!" getting no answer from the Great Detective of the West, who by now was a million miles away, Conan strode out of the room. "I'll just tell Kazuha you fell off the balcony or something and watch her weep tears of joy."

"Hey!"

"Ow!"

"You deserved it.  C'mon, let's get back."

As they passed a window, Conan felt the tingling of a cold breeze _just_ sneaking through the cracks, carrying with it a whisper of a memory he'd forgotten he had.

****

"Whatcha doing up so late, Ran-neechan?" 

"Hm?" Ran was in sitting by the window, resting her face on her folded arms, looking up at the night sky, her face serene.

"It's -" Conan checked his watch, " -almost three in the morning." 

"I'm waiting up for a shooting star, Conan-kun. People say if you wish on a shooting star, your wish will come true, ne?"

"What's your wish then, Ran-neechan?" Conan was glad the darkness hid the scarlet colouring his face.

Ran just smiled, but the hint of a blush tinging her cheeks told him all he needed to know. 

****

Conan didn't know what compelled him to throw open the window, inviting in the frigid burst of cool air. _He's right, though. I don't really want to admit it, but he's right. Conan let out a sigh, releasing -- it felt like years -- of tension, of cobwebs residing in the dark corners of his mind, as if the wind had swept them all away. Unconsciously, he felt that he'd known this all along, that he'd only been fooling himself, that it didn't do any good to run away from his problems. _If she will wait for me, the least I can do is have some part of me left for her to wait for.__

"You done? Let's go already."

They were just out the front door when Heiji paused. 

"Hmm."

"What is it now, Hattori?"

"There was something I meant to tell you, but I forgot...its about Kazuha, no, it's about Tropical Land...um..." Heiji racked his brain, trying to recapture his train of thought without success. "Ah, never mind, it'll come to me later."

He would never ever recall the thought: When noting the sombre resignation in Conan's expression that day in Tropical Land, he couldn't help noticing that Kaito -- one seat in front -- had exactly the same look on his face...

Of course, when they finally got back, it was apparent that they had forgotten the clothes too...

Post-fic A/N: Language is a little awkward. Thanks for the wake-up call guys. There are only 2 ways to get me to update: incessant bugging or too much free time. First day of hols tomorrow. ^^ After I've updated this, will be straight off with my gang of bakas in search of manly pursuits: Finding Nemo, pool/snooker and CS. Seeya!


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